The 2014 Bike Lights Shootout is here! The batteries are charged and the lux meter and lumisphere are ready. We’ve been riding these lights for the last few weeks and the progress in LED technology is dramatic once again.

We went out to a freeway underpass and risked our lives in the ‘hood’ as we photographed our test lights with our camera. The location is useful since it has walls and a ceiling that can display a bike light beam pattern.

Starting with the Gloworm X2 last year, they now have the X1, XS and a CX self-contained light. We even saw them at Interbike this year, making the trek from New Zealand to show off all their new products.

The Gloworm X1 is a great addition to the Gloworm line as it introduces a single LED, lightweight unit to complement the more powerful X2 and X3 lights. This makes it ideal for helmet mounting, as the measured 918 Lumen light weighs in at under 200 grams.

The Supernova Airstream seems to play by a different set of rules. Instead of creating a low-cost, ultra bright light that will be rendered useless in a few years under harsh conditions, Supernova set out to make the best light for commuting.

The Xeccon Spiker is a light with 4 LEDs and a big hard cased battery. The beam is big and bright and it is best used as a bar light to project a wide beam pattern. A spot helmet light would complement this light nicely.

The Xeccon Sogn 700 is a powerful light from Xeccon that features two banks of 3-LED lenses. It is a big light at 658 grams, but it’s good to see a huge beam pattern from this light. It throws far and wide and that’s a good thing with this many Lumens.

Trail Led is a bike light company similar to the great handmade bike builders like Moots and Vanilla Cycles. It is run by craftsman Grady Pace who is meticulous about his work and craftsmanship. The Trail Led Halo is the most extreme one of the group putting out a measured 5350 Lumens.

The secret sauce of of this light is an OLED display that tells you current battery level and current run time left. It tells you exactly how much battery charge you have left and it will calculate in real-time your runtime based on your current light level.

It is a tiny light that is manufactured to the highest standards. It is a bright light in a tiny package. It’ll fit on your bars, your helmet or in your pocket. At the price of $100, it trumps all of the competition in the 700 Lumen category.

Trail Led is a bike light company similar to the great handmade bike builders like Moots and Vanilla Cycles. It is run by craftsman Grady Pace who is meticulous about his work and craftsmanship. Mounting the XXX model is the easiest in the family and it can be mounted anywhere on the helmet.

The Trail Led DS is the middle-ground light hitting 2640 measured Lumens. The form factor and shape is just right with 6 LEDs in a curved row. This forms kind of a halo around the helmet and is shaped to follow the curvature of most helmets.

The Serfas TSL-1000 is a cool light. It dares to innovate where many others stay the same and just employ the latest LEDs in their old light chassis. It’s a completely new light for Serfas with a tiny head unit much like the Lupine Piko, but this one is a little bigger and has air ducts to help dissipate heat.

To complement the NiteRider Lumina 700, the Lumina 650 comes in with a little lower Lumen rating at 650, but integrates a red tail light at the back of the integrated light unit. This leverages mounting, electronics and battery for a much needed commuting tail light.

The Deca Drive is Lezyne’s follow-on to the Mega Drive of last year. It measures almost 900 lumens and is only 100 lumens weaker than last year’s Mega Drive. But it is $50 cheaper and that makes this a terrific value.

The Lupine Piko 4 is the bread and butter of the Lupine powerhouse line-up. While far from being the most powerful, it is reachable by many at $335. And what it really offers is size and functionality.

The Urban was one of our favorite lights last year as it delivered an honest 550 Lumens in a very compact unit. This year, claimed output is bumped up to 700 Lumens and we measured their output at 708 Lumens.

The Mega Drive is the flagship of the Lezyne light line. It features a robust and machine chassis with more heatsinks that we’ve ever seen in a light head. The beam is produced by two LEDs working in concert to produce both width and throw.

Last year, when folks asked me for the best light, I would say “Lupine Wilma 7″. It wasn’t cheap but if someone was looking for the ultimate setup, this was the one that deliver ultimate brightness and flexibility.